Do you remember that bit by Chris Rock where he's talking about not having medical insurance as a kid; how his parent's answer to all their illnesses was Robitussin? "Flu? Tussin! Broken bone? just put some 'tussin on it!" Then there are the stories of people 'robo-trippin' (are there any verified cases of this where it's not just some kids taking so much of anything they feel like shit and call it 'high?). Then there is the very real feeling we all know of taking a bunch of cough syrup because you feel like shit and having yr eyes glaze over like maple syrup and yr motor skills slow down. This tape "Elixir" by The North Sea falls somewhere in this equation.
Long periods of extended hum, like the resonance of having yr mouth open as you fall out of a plane, give the listener the feeling of excess, the experience of witnessing too much to comprehend, like looking out of a plane window over the ocean. There's a slow wail that carries through almost the whole of the tape, giving the listener the sense of peace and almost anxiety that accompanies isolation and vastness.
The end of the second side registers the only significant shift, with the music beginning to show signs of thaw, growth and fluctuation, maybe yr peaking or coming down or losing hope or just beginning to come out of the tussin / ice fog.
It bears mentioning that I'm usually forcing myself to stop concentrating on the process and methodology of the artists and just "enjoy" the music and that was never an issue on this jam. Just sat back, listened and enjoyed.
Nice layout / full color art by pete friel.
Released in an edition of 100
still available from the label:
www.abandonshiprecords.com
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